Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme
Every private Landlord in England and Wales letting private residential property is by law required to join one of three government-authorised tenancy deposit protection schemes if:
The start date of the tenancy is after 6 April 2007 (excisting tenancies prior to this date will not be effected by this legislation) The tenancy is let under an Assured Short Term tenancy agreement.
From the 6th April 2012 the deposit must be registered within 30 days of receipt and the tenants informed which means in reality that if you use an agent like Black Katz where the deposit is collected @ 14 days before the move-in the timescale for the landlord is actually reduced to 16 days from the date of move-in.
As we do not hold deposits we would advise you, our Landlord to look into the schemes that are on offer. If you have any problems with this procedure just contact the office that you have been dealing with and they will guide you through the whole process step by step.
The three schemes are:
The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) - the only custodial deposit protection scheme – is free to use and open to all Landlords and Letting Agents. The service is funded entirely from the interest earned from deposits held. Landlords and Letting Agents will be able to register and make transactions online. Paper forms will also be available should internet access be an issue. The scheme will be supported by a dedicated call centre and an independent dispute resolution service.
For more information, visit www.depositprotection.com or call 0844 4727 000- MyDeposits - This insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme enables landlords to hold deposits this is directed primarily to landlords. The fee for joining this scheme is £58.75 joining fee and £17.12 per deposit protected by the deposit protection scheme and an annual membership renewal fee of £14.70 has been waived every year for landlord members.
For more information, visit www.mydeposits.co.uk or call 0844 980 0290 - The Dispute Service (TDS) is an insurance-backed deposit protection and dispute resolution scheme which has been established in 2003 to provide dispute resolution and complaints handling for the lettings industry. The scheme enables letting agents and corporate landlords to hold their deposits.
The fee for joining this scheme is from £75.
For more information, visit www.tds.gd.com or call 0845 226 7837.
*If you are a landlord that lives overseas you have to join the custodial deposit protection scheme.
If a deposit is not protected, the landlord will be breaking the law. The Landlord will be unable to regain possession of the property using notice-only grounds for possession under the Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. The tenant can apply for a court order requiring the deposits to be protected, or for the prescribed information to be given to them. If the court is satisfied that the landlord has failed to comply with these requirements, or is not satisfied that the deposit is being held in accordance with an authorized scheme, the court must either:
- Order the landlord to repay the deposit within 30 days of the issuing of the court order, or
- Order the landlord to pay the deposit into the designated account held by the custodial scheme administrator.
The court must also order the landlord to pay to the tenant (or person who paid the deposit on his / her behalf) an amount equivalent to three times the deposit amount within 30 days of the making of the order.
You can also Contact Natasha Eddy by email tash@blackkatz.com / 0207 284 3111
What is the Tenancy Deposit Scheme?
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
The government introduced a provision in the Housing Act 2004, whereby it will be a requirement that all landlords/agents that wish to take a monetary deposit will need to place the deposit into a Tenancy Deposit Scheme this scheme was introduced in April 2007. The tenancy deposit scheme is described in sections 212 to 215 and schedule 10 within the Housing Act 2004.
WHY?
It was introduced to safeguard tenants' deposits which are paid in connection with Assured Shorthold Tenancies against unscrupulous landlords and agents who withhold the deposits with no justified reason, it helps to facilitate with resolving disputes over the return of the deposit. Basically the scheme has been introduced to reassure tenants that the return of the deposit is a fair deal due to the fact that the agent or landlord is a member of scheme which uses an independent adjudicator.
How does it work?
There are two types of schemes on offer a Custodial Scheme and an Insurance based scheme.
- Custodial Scheme — in this scheme the deposit is forwarded to a designated third party. It is then held by this party throughout the tenancy until the termination of the tenancy and is returned when all parties are happy with the appropriation of the deposit.
- Insurance Scheme — this is whereby the landlord or the agent holds onto the deposit but the landlord or agent is involved in a scheme that ensures that should the landlord withhold the deposit then the scheme shall pay out.
- For more information you go to www.communities.gov.uk
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The Black Katz Team
We are London's largest lettings-only agent. Our success is due to the simple fact that we treat every landlord and tenant as a person, not a number, each with their own individual needs.
